Salvation
by RadicalArsonist
Summary: Ozai's tyrannical rule has been overthrown, and Zuko is crowned the new Fire Lord. It does not end here, however, as another entity has bided his time, waiting to strike out at the most appropriate and effective moment, to inflict the most amount of damage possible. An individual seeks out the Fire Lord, perhaps to join the once glorious and renowned Team Avatar, for what purpose?
1. Prologue

**Hello all. It's been over a year since the last time I published a Fanfiction, and now I'm somewhat back. Criticism in reviews is appreciated, and it would be helpful to state exactly what this story needs improving on. I did minor edits for spelling and grammar, but some of the tenses of words might be jumbled and/or contradictory. Anyhow, enjoy.**

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_Prologue_

The glint of a honed blade glanced off the outer walls of the Fire Nation Royal Palace. The cloaked duelist gently climbed the short set of stairs leading to the majestic entrance of the main tower, surrounded by two wings. It was great planning and timing; the duelist slipped through unnoticed, conveniently when the guards were switching shifts and catching a break before returning to their respective posts. Sneaking inside the palace was a challenging task; the land surrounding the palace was barren and rough, deprived of any form of plant life, making infiltrating nearly impossible. The intruder sheathed his katana and mentally retrieved the map of the area from the back of his mind, locating the throne room. It would definitely be heavily patrolled by copious amounts of Royal Procession elites; the best of the best of guards. Two plain guards strolled by chatting to each other from the east, just as the duelist turned a corner to conceal himself.

"Your first day here?" The taller guard asked the shorter one.

"Yes. This place is an impenetrable fortress though. Are all these guards really necessary? Seems a bit excessive to me." The short one replied.

"Probably shouldn't doubt the Fire Lord's actions," the tall guard berated, "might get you into trouble."

The conversation of the duo was muffled out after they passed by the hidden duelist and turned a corner. The duelist extracted himself from the shadows and continued on his little quest, inwardly smiling at the irony in the conversation he had just heard. He called up the mental map again and headed north towards his final destination: the throne room. He sneaked past another pair of guards returning to their post, then reached a courtyard. The garden was devoid of any cover, which was bad news for the element of stealth. The cloaked duelist looked around; the left and right paths lead to unknown areas, which rendered that option unsatisfactory to the duelist's standards.

Left with no other option, he risked stepping out of cover and into the sunlight for a brief moment before swiftly ducking under the base of an enormous tree. The cloaked duelist proceeded to silently crawl to the opposite side of the courtyard, sneaking through without incident. He spotted the correct hallway and crouched, quickly hiding in the shadows the corner provided as an entire squadron of guards marched through. An oblivious captain led the cadre to the corridor on the right, disappearing from the duelist's view whilst engaging in several conversations with his crew. The intruder walked briskly down the hallway, making sure his footsteps were inaudible. He rounded a corner yet again and came face to face with a guard. In a split second, he knocked the guard unconscious before dragging the body into a room adjacent to him, and shutting the door softly.

"Hope he's not discovered anytime soon," the duelist muttered to himself, before proceeding on with his mission. The palace was resembling an intricate maze more and more to him, with half a dozen corridors branching off to other unknown territories. It was difficult to recall the correct path from his mind now, as there were too many misleading paths to remember. So the intruder changed tactics. As another guard walked past, he stepped out of cover and knocked him out via a jab to the solar plexus, without bothering to cover up the crumpled body, leaving it on the floor in plain sight. Sure enough, the next guard who turned the corner yelped in surprise as he nearly stepped on the motionless form of his comrade. The guard recovered from his astonishment and notified the other sentries on patrol of a possible intruder, then carried the fallen guard away.

Half a minute later, five Royal Procession guards stormed from the northeast expanse into the corridor, and grilled the sentry on duty questions relating to the whereabouts of an infiltrator. The triple-eyed faceplate proved to be a menacing view.

"Any signs of an intruder in this section of the palace?" one of the Procession guards demanded.

"No sir, there have been no sightings of a trespasser." The sentry looked nervously at the wall, avoiding eye contact with the Procession guard.

"Very well. Keep your position, you are not relieved from your duties. We will take over." Before the Procession interrogator managed to turn around, the agile duelist was already on him, knocking him out with a swift punch. The other four remaining guards turn towards the cloaked duelist, preparing to Fire Bend in fighting stance. With a single movement, the duelist knocked all four of the Procession guards off their feet with his elegant katana, before sheathing the blade again. He briefly considering legitimately killing the now writhing and groaning guards, but decided against it, as the consequences would be too severe. He glanced at the quivering sentry through the slits of his helmet, before progressing through the passageway towards where the Royal Procession guards approached previously. As he walked along the long corridor towards the throne room, he heard shouting behind him, and deduced it as the reinforcement discovering his handiwork.

The destination of his quest came into view as he walked on. He arrived at the throne room doors and quietly slipped through without a moment's hesitation. Once inside, he glanced around the room. The throne room was now much larger than it was before, rebuilt after Avatar Roku and Fire Lord Sozin settled a dispute over an unintentional battle. Black pillars surrounded the entrance, decorated with ornate golden bases, and connected to pitch black floor tiles, reflecting the huge quantity of flames in the room. His eyes settled on a figure, sitting upon a magnificent throne on a high platform. The figure was separated from the duelist by a wall of fire, and beyond that, an awe-inspiring dragon head was perched on the far wall. But the duelist wasn't here to admire the architecture.

"Fire Lord Zuko," he enunciated each word slowly but firmly.


	2. Chapter 1

**Well, this is the official first chapter, excluding the prologue. I'm actually quite proud of updating somewhat on time (weekly), as I am not known to be that sort of person. Please provide helpful feedback (criticism is always accepted), and there's also a poll of what the name the duelist's blade on my page. Enjoy.**

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The Fire Lord was not alone. Not even close to being alone. Approximately forty Royal Procession guards stepped out of the pillars, twenty on each side. The duelist was caught in between, surrounded and outnumbered. The Procession guards swarmed around him and adjusted to bending stances, with one leg in front and palms raised. The Fire Lord turned around, revealing the ugly and marred side of his face.

"What is your purpose, intruder?" He asked quietly. "This is the Fire Nation Palace! There is not one man in this world who is able to enter without being noticed. State your business."

"I wish to duel the Fire Lord," the intruder replied softly.

"You infiltrated a palace, knocked unconscious half a dozen guards, for the purpose of dueling me?" the Fire Lord incredulously replied. "But I'm afraid it cannot happen. One does not simply invite me for a duel. Captain, take the intruder to the dungeons, I will decide his fate tomorrow."

"As you wish, Fire Lord." The Royal Procession captain replied evenly. "Men, follow the Fire Lord's command and take him to the dungeons, now!" The duelist did not retaliate to the guards' firm grips, instead relenting and follow the lead guard, who was most likely a Lieutenant. Before leaving the throne room, the duelist's single remark stopped the Fire Lord's tracks.

"I trust that the Blue Spirit does not disappoint?"

The Fire Lord's blood ran cold. There was no way this stranger knew the identity of the Blue Spirit, but yet his tone showed that he, impossibly, did know the Fire Lord's condemning secret. He ordered the guards to stop, and leave the room without the intruder. The captain protested.

"Fire Lord, he has committed a serious crime and is a danger to you. And it is my duty to ensure your safety."

"I trust my self defense capabilities. Leave. That is an order!"

The captain nodded grudgingly and backed out of the room, unable to decipher a reason behind the sudden change of mood. Feeling confused and afraid of the Fire Lord's safety, he ordered his men the spread out against the walls and listen attentively for any sign that the Fire Lord's safety is in jeopardy.

Back in the room, the Fire Lord looks at the intruder at a new angle, eyeing him with a curious gaze. There was no use denying himself as the Blue Spirit, because the Fire Lord knew the intruder knew. The intruder was the first to break the silence.

"Have you reconsidered my preposition of a duel?" He asked for a second time, with an equally monotonous voice as before, hinting at nothing. Not eager, not hopeful, not excited.

The Fire Lord opened his mouth to refuse, but then thought better of it. The intruder made him curious, and dueling him was perhaps a way to find out more of what he knows. "I accept your offer," he smiled, awaiting an reaction from the duelist. There was none.

The duelist didn't speak, unsheathing his katana instead and taking up a battle stance. The guards outside heard the Fire Lord's every sentence and knew better than to rush in, but still remains anxiously waiting outside. The Fire Lord eyed the intruder's unique weapon, which was leveled out in front of him, the blade parallel to the stone floor. He was wielding it with two hands. The Blue Spirit retrieved his dual blades, returning to a role he swore he would never play again. The duel commences and the Fire Lord finds the intruder a worthy opponent. Blades clash against blades, showering the duo in an avalanche of sparks. The intruder tries to disarm one of the Blue Spirit's blades by smoothly flipping his blade, but instead found himself in a reversed grip position after neglecting to protect himself from the other blade. The cross formed by the Fire Lord's blades are nearing his throat as each second passes by, as his grip on the katana loosens even more.

_6 months prior:_

"Princess Azula, you are pardoned of all your crimes, which were committed under the heinous influence of Fire Lord Ozai, who has now been stripped of his power and thrown into prison. You will now serve as my key advisor, after 4 months of top notch psychiatric care," the current Fire Lord booms.

_Present day:_

The duelist finds strength and forces the blades apart, breaking the cross, and returning to a normal grip. It's his turn for the offensive. He strikes with precise power and deflects one of the Blue Spirit's multiple slashes and delivers a flurry and swift blows, despite using a two handed weapon. The Fire Lord retaliates after parrying all of his blows with a quick stab, delivered by both blades. The duelist narrowly misses certain death and the blades leave his cloak slightly torn. The Fire Lord contemplates on his next move. His blades had just scraped against the duelist's armor, which meant he now had to find the chinks in his armor that connects the limbs and head to the body.

_6 months prior:_

The representatives in the court room are clearly disgruntled, and the observing crowd erupts into protest. An Earth Nation citizen questions the Fire Lord's motives with accusing remarks and is quickly hauled out the room. A Water Nation tribeswoman is furious, screaming with unbridled rage for the Princess's immediate death. She too, is forced to leave the room. There are countless others, and the court room is in complete disarray. The Fire Nation advisors are baffled themselves at the Fire Lord's preposterous statement, and many representatives of the Earth and Water Nations leave the room quietly, although all fuming on the inside. The Fire Lord is not happy with the looks he is getting.

_Present day:_

The Blue Spirit is in quite a bit of trouble. As the fighting rages on, the duelist's attacks are getting closer to their mark each time, not that they weren't in the first place, but the Fire Lord's swordsmanship is also one of the very best. He knocks the duelist back with a feeble blow, giving him time to regain his composure before the relentless assault resumes. If the battle continues like this, he is doomed to fail.

_6 months prior:_

The Princess doesn't not acknowledge her release from prison on the outside, nor the happenings in the court room currently, but she's smiling inwardly. Freedom at last. She will wonder about the changes in the palace, worry about Zuko's abilities to rule this deadly nation. But for now, she pushes these thoughts aside and simply enjoys the first bit of freedom she finally receives after the Fire Nation's defeat in the war.

_Present day:_

There's something not right about this situation. The Fire Lord refocuses and finds what is bothering him. The opponent's blade seems to be shivering. He inspects with a closer look and identifies changes in air currents around the blade. Impossible. There is no possibility of a person being able to manipulate air, except the Avatar himself of course. There was no time for more thoughts as the duelist prepares his next strike.

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**I will hopefully update next week, or even earlier if I'm willing to write so soon again.**


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